A patentability investigation was conducted and the following United States patents by numbers were discovered: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,277,878 to Pankratz; 300,415 to Van Allen; 3,802,409 to Mike et al; 707,000 to Pease; 4,593,673 to Kees; 440,538 to Bruton; and 2,018,880 to Woodhead. None of the foregoing prior art U.S. patents teach or suggest the specific apparatus and/or method of the present invention.
Commercially available automatic pitching machines generally are of two types. The first is a very heavy machine having a mechanical arm which actually throws a baseball. This type of machine is often only found in batting cages in urban areas, is not readily transportable and is very expensive. The other type of pitching machine used by ball teams includes a pair of rotating wheels with balls individually placed between the wheels and thereby propelled toward a batter. These devices are also very expensive and damage conventional baseballs rather easily.
Pankratz U.S. Pat. No. 3,277,878 discloses a baseball throwing machine in the form of a table supported catapult with limited adjustability. Whereas the front end of the ball propelling device is height adjustable, the apparatus itself affords no transverse adjustability of the direction of a pitched ball and the position from which the ball is thrown is not vertically adjustable. Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide an improved slingshot-type of ball pitching apparatus.
Another object is to provide such a pitching apparatus including a stationary ground-supported frame.
Another object is to provide such a pitching apparatus including a longitudinally spaced apart fork and ball release trigger mechanism which are both independently vertically adjustable relative to the frame.
Another object is to provide such a pitching apparatus wherein at least one or the other of the fork and trigger mechanism are transversely adjustable relative to the frame for varying the transverse direction of a pitched ball.
Another object is to provide such a pitching apparatus having a frame adapted to be releasably anchored to the ground.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a pitching apparatus having a trigger mechanism which enables limited vertical adjustment of the position of the ball within the trigger mechanism for varying the direction or movement of a pitched ball.
Finally, an object of the invention is to provide an improved slingshot-type pitching apparatus which is simple and rugged in construction, economical to manufacture and efficient in operation.